1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an apparatus for generating electricity, and more particularly, this invention relates to apparatus for generating electricity by application of gravitational forces due to traffic from pedestrians or rolling vehicles.
2. Prior Art and Other Considerations
A great deal of energy is expended by and thus available from traffic, such as traffic from pedestrians or rolling vehicles. Generally, this energy is not recouped and put to useful purposes because to date, there are no viable devices for capturing this energy. Pedestrian traffic on city streets or in the entrances and exits of buildings is considerable, and in view of the growing scarcity of energy, tapping that energy so as to recoup some portion of it is one way to save or redirect available energy.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,944,855 discloses a device for tapping such an energy source, however, the device requires a considerable amount of vertical room and is therefore not readily adaptable to existing structures. Furthermore, the device does not provide a mechanism for continuously applying torgue to a generator while a pedestrian or vehicle traverses the device.
Accordingly, there is a need for an apparatus which lends commercial viability to the concept of tapping energy made available through the flow of pedestrian and vehicular traffic.